Thursday, April 16, 2009

This and That Thursday


Seems like a lot of little things on my mind this morning. Sixty-degrees today and rising temperatures---can't complain about that. Actually, I don't have a whole lot of complaints this morning.


This is the season when grousing and moaning gets put on the shelf with the winter clothes---well, most of those bad-weather duds anyway.

I'm still wearing boots because of mud, but I'm guessing by next week my turtle necks will get folded and stuffed away in exchange for my polo shirts and my boots will start living in the closet again.


It's been fun lately wearing thin, unlined jeans cuz I actually look and feel thinner in them and have not put on too much blubber over the winter. The only complaint I have about jeans right now is that they get dirty from the work I'm doing outside, and I often wear as many as three pair in one day.

Yesterday I put the cushions on the chase lounges and put the lounges on the deck. Snow is gone, and the only visible remnants on our trek deck are the warps caused from snow load. Until we figure out a way for the snow to shoot off the roof a different direction, we're gonna have warped decks. Still, a warped deck is much more inviting than one with five feet of snow.

Spring has been presenting itself in several forms this past week. For example, I've got a stack of scholarship applications sitting on my kitchen island. That signals the senior season when all the 17-18-year-olds are driving their parents crazy, tuning out their teachers and looking ahead to freedom----college, the military, anything but Sandpoint.

Well, 33 have applied for the Women Honoring Women scholarship for college, so I'll be reading what they have to say. And, then, a committee from the committee will decide the winners to be announced at Class Night next month.

Another sign of spring is the announcement of the 2009 Women of Wisdom class. This is the 11th time "the committee" has chosen a group of women to honor at a festive luncheon in June.

There was a first in the selections last night. We now have the first two-generations-in-one-family winners. The WHW committee selected Ginny Jensen, Betty Faletto, Lois Miller, Helen Williams-Baker and Bobbie Huguenin.

Bobbie's mom Jean Brown won the distinction in the inaugural year for Women of Wisdom, so there was history in the making with last night's decision on whom to honor this year.

And, speaking of history, after I returned home and sat down to enjoy a bowl of ice cream, the phone rang. It was Annie, wondering if we were watching the baseball game.

Well, we weren't, but we should have been because on the 60th Anniversary celebration of Jackie Robinson's breaking the race barrier in baseball, Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 400th home run as a Seattle Mariner.

Annie was in the ball park, and she apparently caught a second or two of TV time as the home run ball flew through the air. She also caught a great night to be in the Mariners' stadium because the famed Ichiro, in his 2009 debut, hit a grand slammer later in the game. The Mariners look like they're for real this year, and what a night for our daughter to be there!

Yup, baseball certainly is a sign of spring, and we're doing our best to figure out a way to attend a Cubs game in Chicago next month, mainly for our mother, a Chicago native who always loved the Cubs but never got to see them play at Wrigley Field. We're finding the task easier said than done, but we'll give it our best shot.

Speaking of 60 years, my neighbors next door to the north were married 6o years ago today. They've been living in their home for that long, and they've got the beautiful tall pines and spruce trees to prove it.

Congratulations to Stan and Geneva Meserve on their 60th wedding anniversary. When we first moved to this farm three years ago, I was told by another friend down the road that they are the nicest neighbors you'll ever have. What a true statement!

Stan and Geneva exemplify so many wonderful human traits that I could not count them on my fingers and toes. I feel blessed to live next door.

Spring is definitely in the air, and I'll probably not be complaining for some time. Too much work to do----manure runs to the garden, plants in the greenhouse needing more and more water, seeds needing soil for sprouting, soiled horses to groom, horses to be shod and trimmed, horses to be ridden and a lawn soon to be mowed.

But I'm certainly gonna take time out to admire the daffodils, smell the roses and lounge on that warped deck with a cup of coffee in my hand and a great big smile on my face.

Love it all!

2 comments:

Sharon said...

I am just now reading POCKET GIRDLES, and enjoying it. I am proud to claim many of the same experiences as my own, even though I grew up in the city in a small Ohio town.

The shoe story was funny as heck. It wasn't so funny when living through it, though. I have a couple pictures of me about 10 years old, shoeless, dressed in a fairly nice dress, perhaps on Easter, but with no shoes. Dirty feet instead.

"Shoeless and clueless in Ohio" would be a good name for my blog, should I ever decide to do one.

I had 5 brothers, and wore their cast-me-down jeans to school, holes and all, and holes were not fashionable then.

It's great to realize that so many of our experiences mirror each other, even though we have never met, and grew up in two different states across a continent.

Amanda S said...

Thanks for putting my Papa & Grandma in your blog! You are one great neighbor as well!